Tag: Trucks

I finally got to spend some quality time in the ranch version of the 2015 Toyota Tundra 1794 full-size pickup. That name was chosen by Toyota to honor the year the ranch was founded where the truck manufacturing plant now sits in San Antonio, Texas. The 1794 edition is positioned squarely against Ford’s King Ranch models and features similar styling.

When initially developing the latest generation Frontier pickup, Nissan chose “More” as its marketing mantra – more size, more power, more off-road capability, more towing and cargo capacity and more comfort and utility. More size put Frontier squarely in the new middle-sized class of pickups that feature performance figures rivaling those found in full-size pickups just over a decade ago.

Although it may seem like the Ram (formerly Dodge) truck division of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Corporation has been serious about competing against the likes of Chevy and Ford pickups in recent years, the brand’s off-roading heritage goes back to the waning days of WWII and a purpose-built ¾-ton military truck known as Power Wagon.

After a three-year hiatus from the marketplace, GM is back in the midsize pickup business in North America. The Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon nameplates return as all-new 2015 GMC Canyon models on new global, frame-based architecture, and these bigger small trucks offer more capability, more comfort, more efficiency and more convenience than ever before.

Some vehicle models just seem to come around often here in the GearDiary test driveway, and the Nissan Titan pickup seems to be one of them. I drove it when it first launched more than a decade ago, punished it on a wet off-road track in North Texas and most recently saw my third Titan in the past five years.

How does an automaker improve a vehicle that’s seen sales success for nearly 38 years running? Aluminum. Yes, Ford has wiped the slate clean on the best-selling vehicle in North America and rebuilt the 2015 Ford F-150 pickup from the ground up, giving it aluminum skin, a new frame, new engines, and a lot more technology.

Following the makeover of its light duty pickup models, Chevrolet has given its Heavy Duty lineup of trucks a thorough overhaul as well. Featuring all-new exterior styling and all-new cabs and interiors, the 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD and 3500HD get the latest technology and powertrains offered by the automaker including a bi-fuel option burning gasoline and compressed natural gas (CNG).

For years, GM pickup buyers that wanted a really fancy truck had to purchase a GMC Sierra Denali to get the finery of a luxury automobile in a rugged package with a cargo box. That’s changed that for 2014, as the blue-collar brand now offers the new Chevrolet Silverado 1500 High Country ready for the Denim and Diamonds Ball.

It has hardly been a year since I last reviewed the Ram Heavy Duty pickup models, and at that time I spoke of the never-ending competition between the big three truck makers. This year nothing has changed as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Ram have upped the ante yet again with the 2014 Ram lineup of 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty …

Last year, Senior Editor Dan Cohen and I were introduced to the new 2014 Toyota Tundra fullsize pickup in separate launch events, his in an eastern state and mine out west. In his review, Dan began a conversation related to consumers who buy trucks out of necessity, but here in the Lone Star State, many are purchased merely for want.

The best-selling truck in the world has just gotten better. Today Ford is taking the wraps off its next-generation F-150 light duty pickup boasting it will be tougher, smarter and more capable than any before it. The 2015 F-150 is being unveiled at the North American International Auto Show with aspirations of setting the standard for the future of trucks.

Habitat for Humanity‘s vision is “a world where everyone has a decent place to live”, and in one Detroit neighborhood, they have really made a difference. Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and I recently test drove a 2014 Ford F-150 while delivering wood to be used on the 100th Habitat home being built in one Detroit neighborhood. That’s community in action!

Competition in the pickup world does not end at the light duty segment, far from it. Truck makers constantly work to improve their heavy-duty consumer models as well and for 2013 the Chrysler Group has made significant improvements in the HD lineup of Ram trucks in the areas of powertrains, suspensions, technology and content. Ram, the truck division over at …

‘New from hood to hitch.’ What a way to begin a marketing campaign but that is how Chevrolet leads in for the 2014 Silverado 1500 pickup, a truck they claim to be stronger, smarter and more capable than any before it thanks to new engines, new styling, new interiors and revised steering, suspension and brakes. These 55 words pretty much …

For those of you who have not yet heard, Toyota makes trucks, and they want to make more of them. In order to do that they have to sell more, and to do that they need to bring to market a truck that more people will want to buy. That’s their goal with the 2014 Tundra. Full-size pickup trucks dominate …

As I mentioned in a brief post the other day, last week I had the opportunity to travel to south-western Pennsylvania to stay at the Nemocolin Woodlands Resort and see, and drive, the 2014 Toyota Tundra and 2014 Toyota 4Runner. The resort was amazing and served as a terrific backdrop for getting to know the new Tundra and 4Runner. What …

No doubt model year 2013 was very good for the Ram 1500, as it collected enough hardware to fill the cargo box: Motor Trend Truck of the Year, North American Truck of the Year, AOL Truck of the Year, Four Wheeler Magazine Pickup Truck of the Year, Consumer Guide Best Buy, Decisive Magazine Urban Truck of the Year, Automobile Magazine …

Design is still the leading factor when purchasing a new vehicle according to Ford Motor Company. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker opened its 2014 product preview for journalists with a “talk show” format presentation in which Ford president of the Americas Joe Hinrichs and global product development group vice president Raj Nair answered prepared questions about Ford’s present and future. Hinrichs …

Despite much of its lineup receiving significant (and much needed) makeovers recently, Nissan boasts a vehicle that is perhaps the “longest in the tooth”, as it is still basically in its first iteration in the form of the Titan fullsize pickup. The Nissan Titan first appeared at the 2003 Detroit Auto Show, and later that fall as the first full …

It has been a few years since a Ford F-150 Raptor has graced our test driveway, and in that time the model has seen a few enhancements to what is already a ‘roided-up version of Ford’s best-selling vehicle in North America. While the SVT Raptor is basically a Baja truck with NHTSA safety equipment and license plates, Ford includes its …

Kicking things off on the first day of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit were the announcements of Car and Truck of the Year. This year’s honors went to the Ram 1500 for top truck/utility, and the Cadillac ATS was named North American Car of the Year for 2013. The winners were selected by a jury of 49 …